Forget the Orlando loss, Celtics have Hawks next

Now that the loss to Orlando is behind us (it is, right), let's move on.

The Celtics have a great shot at completely turning this week around with the outright dismantling of the Atlanta Hawks Friday.

Don't get me wrong, the loss to Orlando hurt --- badly. But what did it do? Not much.

Unless things shift over the last four weeks of the regular season, the Celtics will enter the playoffs with the third spot in the East, meaning to get to the NBA Finals, they'll likely have to do so without home-court advantage against the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers. If they had defeated Orlando Wednesday, they would likely have to face just Cleveland en route to the Finals.

So, what does that amount to? One game. One measly game.

Celtics fans are up in arms about the "horrible" idea of not having home-court advantage throughout the playoffs because of their lack of success on the road during the postseason last year. While people worry about the fact that the C's couldn't win on the road against the Hawks and Cavs last year, they forget about the road wins vs. Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

With a completely healthy Kevin Garnett and all hands on deck, the C's will be a different team against the Magic in the playoffs --- even if its in a Game 7 in Orlando.

So, let's set our sights on more near-minded things --- like those Hawks.

I don't know about you, but I still have an axe to grind. It was nice to down them in the first round last year, but Josh Smith, Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia were a little too cocky, no?